The Sheepinator is a weapon in Going Commando and Ratchet & Clank (2016 game). Manufactured by Megacorp, it fires a beam which converts enemies into sheep.
In Going Commando, it can be upgraded to the Black Sheepinator with use, which transforms enemies into sheep which explode. In Ratchet & Clank re-imagined, an entirely different version of the weapon appears, which upgrades to the Goatinator and transforms enemies into goats that blast other enemies instead.
History[]
Ratchet & Clank re-imagined[]
In the Ratchet & Clank film and Captain Qwark's retelling of events, the Sheepinator is a weapon developed by Dr. Nefarious (considered by him to be one of his personal favorites), which fires a transmogrifying beam to transform enemies and leaves a paradoxsplosion from transformed enemies that damages ones nearby. Ratchet purchased the weapon during Qwark's retelling of events.
In both Qwark's retelling and the holofilm, Dr. Nefarious also used the Sheepinator on the Deplanetizer, betraying Alonzo Drek by transforming him into a sheep and sending him off to New Quartu (which was later destroyed). In the film, the weapon's effects are shown to be temporary, with Drek returning to his normal form moments after crash landing on New Quartu and moments before it was destroyed along with him.
Going Commando[]
The Sheepinator was developed in the Megacorp Armory on Todano, which Ratchet explored during "Investigate the facility interior". During his investigation, he found several other sheep in the building already, implied to be prior victims of the Sheepinator.
Other appearances[]
Although the Sheepinator itself did not reappear later, the sheep morphing effect did. In the multiplayer of Up Your Arsenal the Morph-o-Ray had the ability to transform enemies into sheep (or ducks). In Deadlocked the Morph Mod similarly had the capability to transform enemies into sheep. In All 4 One the Critter Strike's Sheep Morph Mod had a similar effect, although it was only available as a pre-order bonus.
Characteristics[]
The Sheepinator in Going Commando is a black pistol with glowing orange accents. It fires two spiralling orange beams which function as a single beam. The Black Sheepinator is a longer carbine, with greater orange accents and a left-hand grip.
In Ratchet & Clank, the Sheepinator has a different design. It is a red carbine weapon held by a trigger handle and grip on the left, with three claws in a triangular shape and blue highlights, which fires a continuous stream against enemies and transforms them to sheep. The Goatinator features a similar but larger design.
Gameplay[]
Overview[]
Ratchet using the Sheepinator
The Sheepinator fires a continuous beam at enemies, and uses no ammo. When fired, a bar fills up on the right in the UI, and once full, the enemy is fully morphed. This bar fills up faster when used on weaker enemies. While it can still morph stronger enemies, the player must hold the beam on them for longer without being hit or the bar will refresh. It cannot be used on bosses. The Sheepinator, therefore, is most effective against large mobs of smaller enemies, to easily defeat them without needing to buy ammo.
Going Commando[]
Ratchet using the Black Sheepinator
The Sheepinator is acquired for free upon completing "Investigate the facility interior". It can be upgraded to the Black Sheepinator with use. Unlike most weapons, there is no Mega upgrade for the weapon in challenge mode.
As ammo and bolts are so abundant in Going Commando, the Sheepinator is outclassed by weapons which fill this role while also being more useful against larger enemies, such as the Bouncer, the Lava Gun and the Plasma Coil.
The Black Sheepinator's sheep can explode on enemies, making them more useful. This allows the weapon to be more broadly useful, as it can morph smaller enemies into sheep which can then damage the larger enemies. However, in both regards, the weapon is still outclassed by other weapons available, making it redundant in most arsenals.
Ratchet & Clank (2016)[]
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Ratchet using the Sheepinator against enemies in the blarg station.
The player can purchase this weapon for 40,000 bolts upon reaching Kalebo III. The weapon upgrades to the Goatinator with use, an upgrade in which the weapon would transform enemies into goats that attacked enemies from their posterior.
Raritanium upgrades can also further improve the weapon, allowing it to stay relevant. Basic upgrades included upgrades to the range of the beam, bonus raritanium dropped from enemies, the paradoxsplosion radius (increasing the width of the paradoxsplosion), and reinforced keratin (increasing the amount of damage caused by Goatinator goats). Three mystery upgrades were available: Golden Fleece, transforming sheep and goats to golden sheep that drop more bolts on death; Fleece Capacitor, which caused the paradoxsplosion to transmogrify enemies caught in it; and Polymorphic Attack, available for the Goatinator, which caused goat attacks to transmogrify enemies.
The Goatinator and several Raritanium upgrades, notably the Fleece Capacitor and Polymoprhic Attack along with related basic upgrades, allow the weapon to stay useful throughout the game, and even outclass other weapons. This is because the upgrades allow it to quickly mop up large mobs of enemies, to a greater extent than weapons such as the Pyrocitor.
Behind the scenes[]
During the credits for Going Commando, a joke message read that "no sheep had been harmed during the making of this game", presumably referring to the Sheepinator.
While many weapons morphing enemies into real-world animals have appeared throughout the series, the Sheepinator was chosen for use in the reboot movie and the reboot game, with a drastically different appearance.
The Sheepinator does not have a Mega and Ultra version. However, they do exist in the game's files, but cannot be equipped unless the game's memory is directly accessed and manipulated via an external program.
The Sheepinator appears in 8-bit Mini Mayhem.
The Sheepinator was intended to appear in Rift Apart where it would have retained its design and functionality from the reboot game, but it was ultimately cut. The weapon still exists in the game's files in a mostly finished state, however it cannot equipped unless the game's code is manipulated via an external program.[1]
- ↑ Lombax, RC [@rclombax] (2023, August 1). Rift Apart Cut Weapons PART 1! [Video]. YouTube.